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Answer: Yes, as are blogging, blog-reading, and commenting in general  except where those things focus your writing, present fresh ideas, spur new thoughts, make helpful connections, form lasting friendships, and promote your work, blogging or otherwise.

Really, the best answer for each person is contained in two questions:

27 comments:

Yes, I'm commenting on my own post to check-in rather that putting it in the text of the entry.

I haven't done as well this week, averaging four comments a day - mainly because I wasn't online much Monday and Tuesday. Busy days combined with malaise in the breaks. I hope to spend some time today catching up. The WBBT will certainly help as there are lots of good posts to read and comment on.

I haven't met the 5 per day benchmark, but I've come close, and visited and commented on over 30 blogs since we started! I'm making good connections and finding some great folks out there. Very worth the effort!

If I melted all the days together, I'm holding my own for Week 2 of the challenge. I generally try to stay away from the computer on weekends, so those days are light. Lucky for me, being sick today means lots of time with the ol' laptop and reading blogs.

You can check in with numbers per week, but the idea of this check-in is more informal. More how you doing, what's working, and what are you finding kinda stuff. And, of course, a reminder and support to keep on commenting!

Doing this challenge and being conscious of how many comments I'm leaving per day has really made me think about how much time I spend reading blogs (and how much time I spend reading blogs thoroughly). I've done well some days and not so well other days... what with the mountain of Cybils reading, it's been harder than I thought it would to make time for reading blogs thoughtfully and adding to the discussion. But that's just made me realize that it is important to me to be a part of this community, so I definitely want to make time. :)

In the last 8 days (I didn't count Wednesday when I checked in last week, and I'm not counting it today) I have made 47 comments. That's about 5 or 6 per day. It's been relatively painless and a whole lot of fun to boot! I am loving find so many "new-to-me" blogs.

I'm loving finding the new-to-me blogs as well, but I've definitely slacked off this week. I found myself wondering "could I put this in my annual report?"

BTW the coincidence of the Comment Challenge with the WBBBT (too many B's?) has actually slowed me down a bit--while I love the interviews, they don't necessarily call out to me for comment, more for savoring. Hmm.

I've liked the Comment Challenge. It's gotten me onto a couple new blogs I wasn't familiar as well as motivated me to write more for my own blog. At first it was hard because I would click and read, click and read, click and read and end up somewhere far away from the blog I had meant to comment on. Now I'm learning to be a little more focused. I also know how much I like to get comments on my blog, so that motivates me as well! So, no not a waste of time.This is my 49th comment. It also hits home the idea of writing fluency for me. At first I would agonize over what I was going to write, now I don't second guess myself so much.

I'm still in, Pam. I've had at least 5 comments every day, and am averaging 7.5/day for this week (down from last week, but still respectable). I found this week tougher, though. It started to feel like work, some days. Still working on balance for the blog in general, though, so I think that my overall feeling of not having enough time for what I'm trying to do has seeped over into the commenting. But I'm still glad to be doing it.

So far I am still hanging in there. I did have to do a balance check though. I now have a list of things I have to get done before I blog. Like housework and laundry. How's that for motivation? I blog so I can get my house clean! Some days it's easier than others, but I have enjoyed meeting more people and having people visit my blog.

Okay, I just love this challenge because it is forcing me to explore and learn so much!!! Of course, I have now ignored my daughter for over an hour as she made an experiment in the kitchen but oh, well.

I have to respond to something Libby said, about not commenting so much with WBBT because she savored the interviews more than she felt like commenting on them.

Let me tell you as someone who does interviews, we love comments on interviews - even if it is a simple one. We put a lot of effort into them and it's great to know people are reading and enjoying them.

I haven't done as well this week, on days where I didn't do 5, I did more to make up the next day. I also joined Twitter and am working on figuring out GoogleReader, which leads to How do I maintain balance? I'm not sure, but maybe as I get better at blogging (faster, etc) then it will be easier.

It's been difficult for me to keep up. I do many one day but then I'm a little burned out the next. I simply don't have enough free time to blog, comment on blogs, focus on my manuscripts and read. (I long ago gave up watching TV! No time for that!)

However, I have found some terrific new blogs and websites, made new connections, and increased my own blog hits. So I do think it's a very worthwhile exercise, but one I know I cannot sustain at the five-a-day pace over the long term.

But I like the idea of giving myself a weekly comment goal. About 15 feels right with me.

I agree that some days it feels like work. But I know how happy it makes me when people comment on my blog, so I like leaving a little note for people to let them know I appreciate theirs as well. I'm really glad I took part in this challenge!

I have been averagin 5 a day. I wish I could do that with my fuits and vegetables! My biggest challenge is leaving a commnet and then realizing I had not logged into my own and then the comment won't be accepted. Iam loving the reading new blogs.

I began this week with a goal of writing 5k in one day - which I did, while bribing myself with various goodies (including getting to check out blogs). Then I found out another blogger, CuppaJolie, was inspired and wanted to do 5k, too, so we cracked the whip with each other all day! It was pretty incredible - we're back for a rematch today (Thursday) and have added several participants! Anyone is welcome.

Been hitting at least my five a day, if not more--some long, some short. That's what I've learned--short comments are ok. As a fellow blogger I'm happy with any comments (though I delete the sales pitches) but wasn't into giving them. Duh! Now you've definitely got me in the habit. I'll try to be less of a lurker. Hope my readers feel the same...

The Rundown

One of the bestselling preschool books of recent times was Walter the Farting Dog. At the same time, the American Library Association named as one of its best books Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, a book in which Mr. Rosen talks about his despair over the death of his son. I believe that, for most of us, what we want lies somewhere between a flatulent canine and overwhelming grief.